No. 3-ranked Dell Rapids St. Mary scored the game’s first 34 points on the way to defeating Langford Area 50-20 in the first round of the Class 9B playoffs Tuesday night.

With the win, the Cardinals (8-1) advance to Monday’s quarterfinals and will travel to Avon.

Dell Rapids St. Mary coach Ross Flemmer was pleased with his team’s offensive effort, which saw the Cardinals rush for 362 yards in the win despite playing in muddy and wet conditions.

“The biggest thing was that our kids held onto the ball,” Flemmer said. “They were running hard tonight. Our line did a good job. I’m really proud of our kids and glad they pulled it out.”

Josh Brown rushed 21 times for 153 yards while Ben Bunkers tallied 105 yards on 16 carries and two touchdowns to lead DRSM. Defensively, Jacob Glazier and Jared Scholten each made seven tackles while Bunkers picked off two Langford Area passes.

Christian Schnieders capped the Cardinals’ opening drive, rushing in from five yards to open the scoring.

On their next possession, the Cardinals’ Wes Heinricy found Josh Scholten on a 14-yard TD pass to push Dell Rapids St. Mary’s advantage to 14-0 with 1:35 remaining in the first quarter.

After stopping the Lions on a fourth down, Glazier rushed in from 26 yards out just three plays later that combined with another two-point conversion from Brown to make it 22-0 with 10:36 remaining in the first half.

Bunkers later added a 19-yard TD run while Schnieders ran in from a yard out to give Dell Rapids St. Mary a 34-0 edge with 3:33 left in the half.
Langford Area finally broke through seconds later when Bo Fries hit Chance Olson on a 36-yard TD pass, closing the gap to 34-6 with 3:18 remaining.

The Cardinals scored on their first two possessions of the third quarter when Bunkers ran in from five yards with 7:58 remaining while Heinricy hit Brown with a one-yard TD pass with 1:22 remaining in the half to put the game out of reach.

Lions coach Paul Raasch said his team met expectations this season finishing with a 5-4 record.

“We had a pretty good year,” he said. “Our goal was to get back to the playoffs and maybe take a shot in the playoffs but it just didn’t work out for us tonight. We’re pretty happy with our season.”

Bunkers said it helped playing at the friendly confines of Rickeman Field, where his team has gone 5-0 this season.

“When we play at home, the crowd really gets in the game,” Bunkers said. “That helps back us up and keeps us going forward.”